


Life After Prison

by AHappyBeginning



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-03-26 09:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13855368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHappyBeginning/pseuds/AHappyBeginning
Summary: I was just thinking about Emma Swan in Juvi, and how she navigated life after being behind bars-but with Henry by her side. Also, since Emma's keeping her baby in this fic, I doubt she'd be using the name Henry, so for the sake of this story 'Henry' is called Lucas.....(not sure where I'm going with this one....may turn into a CS AU but not sure yet).





	1. Leaving Prison

Emma hadn't seen her son in two months. They'd not really planned on her keeping him, so when she'd changed her mind at the last minute, she was still in a Juvenile Detention Centre that didn't accommodate for inmates to keep their babies. It'd been fine for her to stay there and be pregnant, but her son couldn't stay on the inside with her, and she still had time on her sentence. So, he'd been taken into foster care after the first few days of being in the hospital ward with her.

Saying goodbye to him hard been the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she knew that she'd get him back as soon as her time was done. And then she would be a good Mom for him. Even in prison, she was trying her best for him. Twice a day she reported to the medical wing to pump milk for her son, so that it could be delivered to the foster home he was in. She felt good knowing that in some way, some part of her was with her son, helping him to grow. 

She kept her head down and served the rest of her time out of trouble. She ignored fights that people tried to start with her, and she kept her cool. Every time she was tempted to kick back and fight one of the other girls for saying something about her son, she knew she had to stay calm for Lucas. Everything became about being better for him. He deserved to have a good Mom, a Mom who could stay out of trouble and who could look after him, and the second she was out, that's exactly what she was going to do.

On her release date, her nerves were a mess. She'd been attending parenting sessions with one of the wardens who had taken a liking to her. The warden had five children of her own, and had helped Emma understand the things that she may need to know, but it still made her nervous to think of being alone with her son after all this time. She had a car though, and an apartment to go to that the state had set her up with, as well as the wad of cash that Neal had left her. As much as she hated that son of a bitch, she sure as hell wasn't dumb enough to throw away cash, not when she could use it to make a life for Lucas. He didn't need a Dad, he'd have her. And together, they'd be fine. They'd be each other's family. 

When the metal link fence was pulled back and Emma Swan was free, she saw the foster family standing there with her son. Her face broke out into a smile and she dumped the box she'd been carrying to run to him. She was crying as she took him, cradling him close to her, finally after all this time.

"Lucas....Mama loves you..I love you so much. I love you." She cried into his small body softly. She kissed him all over, drinking in the smell of him. He was even more gorgeous that she'd remembered and she still could barely believe that he was all hers. She thanked the foster family, she knew from experience that not all foster parents were bad, and she'd been grateful that Lucas had been placed with ones that seemed okay. But she was here now, and she wasn't going to let him down.

"Thank you so much." She managed to say to the couple, who were looking at her with a strange look of pride.

"It was our pleasure Emma. He really is a sweet boy and we know that you're going to love being his Mom." The woman told her, reaching out to rub her back affectionately. Emma only stiffened a little at the contact, but pushed it away. She didn't want to be rude, they'd cared for her son while she couldn't. 

"The Warden tells us you have a car, and we have a car seat for him, it'll grow with him, so as long as it doesn't break it should last him till he's a young boy." The man said, lifting the car seat from the ground. He also pointed to a large box that was on the gravel.

"We also packed all of his clothes and blankets that he's been in for the time we've had him. Some of it doesn't fit anymore, but we'd thought that you may like to keep them as a keepsake. There's also diapers in there, enough to last you a month or so....and his favourite toy. It's a stuffed duck, he loves the thing. And bottles! There are bottles in there too. The only thing you should need for him, is a crib, but you may want to have him sleep with you, so that's up to you to figure out." He added kindly. 

Emma nodded as he spoke, just holding Lucas with such joy. "Thank you." She repeated, over and over again. They really were kind, and they were helping her figure out a lot of the basics that she'd need for him, and for that she was grateful. She watched the man put Lucas' car seat in her car, and listened as he told her how to convert it, how to remove it and put it back in again. She let them fill her boot with baby supplies, and then they were saying goodbye and leaving her.

And then, it was just her and her son. She placed him into his car seat carefully and strapped him in, cautious not to trap his skin or his clothes in the little snaplock buckles. 

"So....it looks like it's just you and me now kid." She sighed, looking at him with a smile.

Emma had the address of the apartment, and the Bug had petrol in it. All she had to do now, was leave and start her new life.

"Hey Swan!" Came a cry from the prison, which made Emma look up, squinting in the glare of the sun.

She recognised the Warden who had helped her so much in the past two months. She was the closest she had to a proper friend on the inside, or a parent figure, if you could go that far. 

"Hey McNally!" Emma called back with a grin.

"Piss off and don't come back." McNally yelled, which made Emma laugh. She had no intention of ever coming back to this place.

"And see your ugly face everyday? Fat chance!" Emma shouted back happily, before getting into her car and starting the engine. 

And with that, Emma drove away from life behind bars, and towards her new life, with her son.


	2. Settling In

The apartment was bigger than anything she'd ever had before. Sure, it was small by most people's standards, a one bedroomed apartment with a kitchenette and a lounge, a small bathroom off her bedroom, but it was hers. Or, theirs, rather. It was all for her and Lucas. 

She didn't plan on stay there long either, maybe a year or so to get on her feet and earn some real money, then she'd find them a better place in a better area. But for now it'd do.

She decided against buying a crib for him, she let him sleep in her bed with her instead, often falling asleep with him on her chest, or cradled in her arms. 

One of the first things she did, was try to find a job. Sure, the guilt money Neal had left her would last for a little while, but she wanted to be able to continue earning money, and she needed to start saving for Lucas. So, she'd bundled him up in a warm outfit and carried him around town with her, stopping in every store and diner asking about a job.

When she walked into her last spot of the day, she felt deflated. Not many places were keen on hiring girls who were fresh out of prison, with a newborn in tow. Not to mention that she hand't quite figured out what she was going to do with Lucas while she worked. She took a seat at the counter of the diner, choosing to scope the place first. It seemed to be run by an older lady, who looked kind enough. There were a couple of young girls behind the counter, and a few more sprinkled around the diner, taking orders. 

"I'm guessing that you're here to ask about a job." The elderly woman called out to Emma, walking over to the counter where she sat. Emma's eyes widened and she wasn't sure what to say, she hadn't known that she was so obvious in her intentions. 

"I-uh.....yeah..." Emma managed to say. "I need a job." She added, deciding that it was better to play this off as more confident than the nerves she was actually feeling. The woman glanced at Lucas, who was asleep in Emma's arms at this point. 

"You have a daddy for that baby?" The woman asked, to which Emma shook her head. 

"You have parents that can watch him when you work?" She pressed again, to which, Emma shook her head again.

Emma watched the woman, she was clearly thinking about something, and Emma didn't want to break the silence and ruin any chance she may have of getting a job. 

Eventually, the woman cleared her throat and began to talk. "We have Bethany over here, she's got a baby girl a little older than your boy, she manages to get her little one to sleep in her car seat and she keeps her under the counter here. Or we stick her on dishes, and her baby Willow has a little playpen near the washing station, that way she can play while her Mama works. You think you can work around that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at Emma.

Emma's eyes went wide and she nodded her head enthusiastically. How the hell she had just walked into the one place in the world that'd let her earn money while keeping her baby with her, she didn't know, but she wasn't going to question it.

"I can work anytime, any shift." Emma promised with a smile. "And I can learn, real fast too."

"One condition." The woman told Emma, pointing a finger out at her sternly. "We don't scare the customers off with boy drama in here. If you got a baby daddy issue, you solve it outside, got it? I won't have another screaming match inside my diner. I know you young Mom's need a break sometimes and I'm willing to give it to ya, but I won't have it effecting my business."

"No ma'am." Emma nodded. "You won't have to worry about that. Lucas doesn't......it's just the two of us." She promised. 

* * *

 

The next day, Emma prepped herself for work. Lucas was fed and ready for a nap by the time she got to the diner, and she'd already placed him in his car seat, covered up with his blanket. She kept her head down as she headed behind the counter, placing her son's car seat next to the one that was already placed deep under the counter. It made her feel better knowing that even if someone were to drop something or spill something, that Lucas would be far back enough to stay out of harms way. She was only doing an eight hour shift, and he should sleep for at least four hours before needing a feed and a change, and she was then planning on taking the dishes shift so that he could play in the carry cot out back for the remainder of her time here.

"Emma, put this apron on. You can stay behind the counter and just take orders from here till your boy wakes." The owner told her with a kind smile. Emma nodded and took the maroon coloured apron, tying it around her waist. "Thank you so much. For all of this, really...I really appreciate it." She told her quietly. Emma didn't trust anyone, but she felt like she could maybe trust this woman. She seemed kind, and like she'd give Emma a chance. 

"No problem. Just serve with a smile."

 


	3. Chapter 3

If Emma Swan was anything, she was a busy woman. Barely eighteen and she was flat out each and every day. After working at the diner for about four months, love it though she may, she knew that this was not the life she wanted for her and Lucas for the rest of her life. So, she'd enrolled in night classes at the local community college. Thanks to the isolation she'd been put in in prison to protect her and her growing child, she'd had time to get her GED while behind bars, and now she was studying to get some sort of higher qualification. It was rough though, and she never felt as if she were getting enough sleep. And she wasn't. 

Every day started at five, Lucas slept until seven or eight, so it gave her a head start of getting stuff done before she had to focus all of her attention on him. She'd wake up, take a shower, then prepare her lunch and Lucas' lunch for the day, packing their bags and leaving them by the door. Then she'd spend half an hour cleaning up the apartment, spending the rest of the time before Lucas woke, on getting her homework done. When Lucas was finally awake, she had to feed him, change him and then get them both out of the door and at the diner before nine thirty. She worked until her first break at one, and then until five when she finally clocked out for the day. She and Lucas would take the trip over to the college, where she'd feed him in the car and eat some of the left overs from the Diner that she was always sent off with at the end of the day. Then, class. She always tried to have Lucas' fall asleep for the time she was in class, but he was a good baby, and generally didn't fuss even if he was awake. 

They made it home each night for ten, sometimes a little later. Emma would give Lucas a bath, spend some time playing with him, singing to him and snuggling him, and then put him down for the night. Then it was time to do more homework, and go over the notes she'd taken that day in class. And by midnight, or one in the morning if her notes were particularly confusing, she put herself to bed. 

Each day, she woke up feeling more exhausted than the one before and she counted the weekdays down until her one day off a week, Sunday. On Sunday's she slept until Lucas woke up, and even then, she was often so shattered that she'd just lift her shirt and allow him to feed while her eyes remained shut. Come eleven, or mid day if she really was tired, she'd get up and make herself a coffee, and then take a bath with Lucas. He loved being in the water, and watching him splash about made her smile. She'd take him for a walk, or to the park, or, if her tips ad been pretty good that week, to the aquarium. Lucas loved staring at the giant tanks and even though Emma was so sure that at six months, he was too young to be able to see any of the fish properly, the smiles that he gave her was rewarding enough to keep bringing him back. 

Today was a Sunday, and Lucas had pulled Emma from her sleep earlier than usual, grumbling away, unhappy to be left sleeping when he clearly was no longer tired. Emma sighed and sat up reluctantly, pulling Lucas into her arms. "Hey baby." She cooed softly, trying to soothe his cries. His small hands balled up into fists and he shoved them both into his mouth at the same time, sucking on them and the crying stopped. 

"Are you hungry? Are you having a growth spurt?" She asked, puzzled at her son's unusual behaviour. She'd already fed him that morning, and yet, he seemed to be hungry again already. The books she'd taken out from the library had mentioned that babies would start to eat more as they hit a growth spurt, she just hadn't really been expecting it. She knew he had to grow sometime, but he'd been her little baby for so long, and she wasn't exactly Mary Poppins here, her baby knowledge was very basic. She allowed him to feed from her again, regardless of his normal feeding schedule and he seemed very pleased to be sucking away at his second breakfast. 

"Mama is going to take you to see the fishes again today my handsome little boy." She told him in a whisper. He looked up at her, attracted to the sound of her voice, but made no efforts to stop feeding. 

* * *

 

Emma preferred to carry Lucas when they went out on her day off. He spent far too long in his car seat, or trapped in the carry cot when she was at work, and so she loved to hold him close to her when she wasn't in an environment in which she had to be hands free to serve people.

As usual, Lucas was loving the fish. She leaned up close to the glass with him and he joyfully smacked the glass, and smooshed his face up against it, licking it and making Emma laugh. 

"That's quite the boy you have there." Came a foreign sounding voice. Emma's head spun around quickly to identify who had spoken to her, and she was blown away. The most gorgeous looking man she'd ever seen, was looking right at Lucas, a smile on both of their lips. 

"Yeah.." Emma said softly. "Thanks." She added quickly, blushing a little. 

"He looks a lot like you, his Father must be pleased." He complimented. Emma knew it was just a way for this man to deliver a compliment and find out if she were single or not in the same statement, but Emma couldn't help but freeze up at the thought of Neal. He seemed to read her expression and immediately had a face full of regret. "I'm sorry lass, I didn't mean to step on any sore spots. I simply meant ...."

"I know what you meant." Emma interrupted. "And maybe two years ago, I'd have been swept off my feet by your dashing looks and your accent, and the fact that you look like you're not far off from the bad-boy reputation being true. But things are different, I have a son, and I've been burnt by your type before, something I don't plan on doing again." She warned him. "But thanks anyway." 

With that, Emma walked away from him, pushing the thought of him out of her mind, never expecting to see him again.

"Dashing looks, huh?" Was all that was said as she walked away, leaving behind one very intrigued and impressed young man. 


End file.
